The Encounter (3 page)

“I need you to stay quiet and not tell anybody, even if they come looking for him and you feel this impulse to keep me safe. I still don’t know his story and until I do, I am going to treat him with kindness and not suspicion.” I was already suspicious about why he was shot, how he had come about to slam into my car in the middle of the morning and how I possibly had become his guardian angel.

Tina went to the back and began rummaging through the medicine cabinet for medications that were left over from various things. I am also guilty of this and I have left over expired medication that I should have gotten rid of a long time ago.

She came back, holding a bottle of pills that looked like it held about a dozen. “Here is the medication that I was talking about and make sure that he takes it once every couple of hours. That should not only help with the pain, but with the infection as well.” She had already told me that she wanted me and him out of here before her child came home and I wasn’t about to go against my word.

About an hour later, I was helping her put him back in my car as gently as possible. He had only awakened long enough to say Trojan horse again, which made both myself and Tina look at each other with puzzlement.

I drove him back to my place, keeping my eyes in the rearview mirror in case I saw something unusual or a car that appeared to be there more often than not. I was getting way too caught up in this and it really did feel like I was in some kind of James Bond movie. Better yet, maybe it was an Alfred Hitchcock masterpiece that had me on the edge of my seat any time that I put one into the DVD player.

The mystery alone was enough to pique my curiosity and there was really no telling who this man was. He could’ve been some kind of international spy, a homeless man that got caught up in something that he shouldn’t, or even less likely, an alien from another planet. Either way, it was enough to get my mind conjuring all sorts of scenarios.

I drove up into the driveway, pressing the button to open the garage and then parking inside with the engine turned off. “I don’t know who you are and I hope that this isn’t a bad mistake. I’m sure that you have an explanation for all of this and it’s most likely something a lot less extravagant than being a spy or something like that.” I was talking to him like he was awake, but it was sort of nice to talk to somebody without them talking back. I was able to speak my mind without interference or an opposite opinion being thrown back in my face. Mike was always correcting me, but in the age of technology all it took was a few mere moments in front of the computer to find out which of us was right.

It wasn’t very easy to get him down the stairs, but he was somewhat conscious enough to lend a hand. The stairs were made of concrete and one wrong step would have meant serious injury or death for both of us. This place had obviously been built as a cottage back in the day, because the stairs would’ve been outside and this was just another addition that was put on the house.

Taking him down to the basement, I felt his muscles underneath his clothing and he suddenly looked at me with those puppy dog eyes that had me feeling for the guy. “Where am… I?”

“Take it easy; you’re at my place. You need time to recuperate and I intend to see that you stay put until you do.” He tried to wrench free from my grasp, but he was far too weak to pose any real problem. “Buddy, if you keep that up, you’re going to take out your stitches. If that happens, I will have no choice but to call the hospital, which in turn will call the police.” At the sound of the latter, he stopped struggling and allowed me to help him down until he was situated on the pull out couch.

There were already sheets on it from the last time we used it for Mike’s in-laws and I watched as he was breathing kind of heavy and then his eyes fell and before long he was snoring. It was interesting, because I didn’t even know his name, let alone what his story was, so why was I putting myself out for somebody that I didn’t even know?

About to leave him, I saw that he was shaking and went over to find that he was fevered with sweat dripping down his chest. Tina had given me some medication, but finding a way to make him swallow it was going to be a Herculean effort to say the least. It appeared that the infection was rampant and that I would have to get it under control before it killed him.

Going upstairs, I found a glass, filled it with cool water and then did the same thing to a basin with the cool washcloths and ice cubes inside. Looking at my phone, I saw that my assistant had found out that the corporate executive wasn’t going to be there for another couple of hours. Apparently, he had gotten caught in traffic and I had to think that this was some kind of an omen. I texted back that I would be there at exactly 1:00 PM, which gave me about 2 hours to get this man’s fever down.

* * *

THREE

* * *

It wasn’t like I was trying to get myself into something that I can’t get out of, but I couldn’t exactly leave him in his condition. The only way that I would feel comfortable about going into the office for the meeting was if I could get his fever down and the only way to do that was to use something cold. If this didn’t work, I had the option of putting him into an ice bath in the upstairs bathroom, but that was a last resort.

The body can withstand a lot of things, but hypothermia is something that you have to avoid at all costs. Looking out my window, I was making sure that I wasn’t going to have any unwanted visitors, namely Diana my neighbor across the street. She likes to go through everybody’s back yards, peeking into windows to see if there’s any juicy gossip that he she can use to spread around the neighborhood. I don’t know why she doesn’t just get herself a boyfriend, because I think that she has a need for some sexual companionship.

It wasn’t like she wasn’t attractive, because she did have the kind of body that most women would’ve given anything for. I wasn’t one of them, but she did make me want to work out even more than I already did. It wasn’t lost on any of us in the neighborhood that she could walk down the street and have any man panting along after.

I found a large pan or basin in the back cupboard, filled it with all the ice that I could find from the freezer, hearing the clinking of the glass as the cubes hit the surface. Next, I filled it with water and then I took a few of the pills and crushed them into powder. This would make it easier for him to swallow, but I also had to grab a glass and fill it with water for him to sip from. I almost lost my grip on it because my hands were wet, but I was able to hold onto it long enough to fill it and then look towards the basin to know that I was going to have to do some major juggling to get both the glass and the basin downstairs.

Balancing both the basin and a glass of water in my hands, I had to use my foot to open the door wide enough for me to slip through. Once I was there, I moved down the stairs slowly, one step at a time until I was at the bottom.

He had now tossed the sheet that I had over him onto the floor and was thrashing back and forth with his arms and legs moving at the same time. Putting my hand on his forehead, he calmed down, but was still mumbling something incoherent underneath his breath. “Flash flood… watch out… watch out.”

I reached for his shirt, but I hesitated because I didn’t want to invade his personal space. Instead, I concentrated with the pills that Tina gave me. Opening his mouth, I laid the pill crushed up on his tongue and then followed it with some water from the glass. I thought that he might choke on it, but his throat opened up and he swallowed it all.

Reaching again for his shirt, I took a deep breath before opening each button one at a time. Revealing his chest and his stomach, I once again felt this butterfly effect on my belly, but that didn’t stop me from taking the cool washcloth and sponging his body down to the waist. I took careful deliberation, taking my time and bringing down his temperature. Touching his skin after a couple of minutes of administering the cool washcloth, I found that his temperature had gone down considerably, which might mean that he would take a turn for the better. It was probably going to be some time before he woke up, so I hazard a guess that I might be able to get to my meeting and back before he awoke and found himself in a strange place.

There was really no telling what he would do if he didn’t know where he was. This meeting was way too important and I was just lucky that they had run into a snag themselves on their way to the meeting. This allowed me to be there in person and not have to relegate the responsibility to somebody that wasn’t up to speed on everything. I had been living and breathing this meeting for the past week and a half and there was nobody better equipped to deal with this matter than myself. My research on Mr. Brady was intensive and I probably knew more about him than he knew about himself. This allowed me to have a little bit of confidence going into the meeting, because I knew that he needed this as much as we did.

He wasn’t about to say something like that, so I was going to have to make this easy and give him a reason to do business with us instead of somebody else.

I was thinking about this the entire time that I was washing him down, still not quite sure why I had put myself out there and done something so reckless so as to bring a stranger into my house. I don’t think Mike would’ve taken kindly to me playing nursemaid to a handsome stranger and he really did have a jealous streak that wasn’t at all attractive. It was the only thing that I didn’t like about him and he took exception to people of the opposite sex looking at me. It’s not every day that a woman feels wanted and desired at the same time and on those occasions that men found me to be worth a second glance, I found a little giddy thrill knowing that I had that kind of effect on them.

“I hope you don’t take offense from this, but I really hope that you get well fast and out of my life before Mike finds out about you. If there is a God, I will return here after my meeting and find that you have vacated the premises.” Leaving him, I stopped on top of the stairs and looked down at his sleeping form, before letting out a sigh of relief.

It didn’t take all that long to get down to my office and Jasper was right there with a cup of coffee and a cinnamon apple danish on my desk. “They just called and they should be here within ten minutes.”

This didn’t give me a lot of time to prepare, but thankfully I was preparing myself for this meeting for the past week and a half. I had everything down to a science and I even knew how to talk to him so he would feel as if he wasn’t giving anything up.

“When they get here, send him directly to my office and I want you to keep his assistant busy long enough for us to talk in private.” He nodded his head, gave me this sheepish smile to indicate that he knew exactly what I was up to and then left me to prepare.

The meeting started about five minutes after he left and Mr. Brady walked in with an air of superiority that wasn’t hard to see. “I really don’t have time for this and I have to be back on a plane within the hour. If we can conclude this business, I can get out of this town and back to my penthouse in New York.” He was exactly as I imagined, opinionated, forthright and not the most cordial man to be dealing with. His chest was puffed, his white hair combed back out of his eyes and wearing a suit that was old, but still has its charm.

“Here is my proposal and with us you can double your earnings with a few well chosen investments. I’ve taken the liberty of mapping a detailed investment portfolio and that should give you all the incentive that you need to bring your fortune into this bank. Besides, our bank hasn’t been robbed in over 50 years, so there is no reason for alarm. In fact, our banking institution has been profitable and you can’t say that for some other unnamed ones. Being in a bank is safer than keeping it underneath your mattress and most people are under the mistaken impression that banking is unreliable. I will personally secure your funds and you will be insured for anything that you lose, not including investment deviation.”

He was looking over the portfolio, his eyes crinkling and giving me the impression that he was impressed without saying much of anything. Finally, he looked up from the papers, signed them without looking and then said, “I find this to be satisfactory and I believe that we can do business together.” There wasn’t much left to say and he bowed out gracefully before leaving with his toady following behind.

I put my hands on the desk, feeling like the weight of the world was coming off my shoulders and then looking up to see my fellow co-workers standing in the doorway. They all looked like they were holding their breath and it was obvious that they couldn’t tell from the old man’s expression as he left the building. I could’ve dragged it out and made them suffer, but that was not how I was made.

“He has decided to go with us and has signed a contract to that effect. His fortune will be within these walls in a few hours and I don’t have to tell you how this looks for us.” The future did look bright and it was possible that we might have to wear shades. It was something from an old song that I heard from a Canadian artist. It always stuck with me, even as I grew up as a child, but now I was in the position to actually keep my people from losing their job. Everybody came forward and started to congratulate me on a job well done, when my phone began to buzz incessantly and I look down to see that my next door neighbor was trying to get in touch with me. “Excuse me a moment and I have to take this.”

Instead of making them leave my office, I went out into the hall and opened up my phone “Cecily, I just wanted to inform you that there seems to be some kind of commotion going on at your house. Somebody is screaming and it’s so loud that my dogs are actually howling back in response. Is this something that should be concerned about and should I be calling the police?”